Test plan for hydrogen getters project

Hydrogen levels in many transuranic (TRU) waste drums are above the compliance threshold, therefore deeming the drums non-shippable to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Hydrogen getters (alkynes and dialkynes) are known to react irreversibly with hydrogen in the presence of certain catalysts. The primary purpose of this investigation is to ascertain the effectiveness of a hydrogen getter in an environment that contains gaseous compounds commonly found in the headspace of drums containing TRU waste. It is not known whether the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) commonly found in the headspace of TRU waste drums will inhibit (poison) the effectiveness of the hydrogen getter. The results of this study will be used to assess the feasibility of a hydrogen-getter system, which is capable of removing hydrogen from the payload containers or the Transuranic package Transporter-II (TRUPACT-II) inner containment vessel to increase the quantity of TRU waste that can be shipped to the WIPP